Hey there! I'm a software engineer currently living in Somerville, Massachusetts. I love learning, reading, music, food, and exploring. Also, cats. I also currently volunteer at a suicide/crisis hotline.

Before we start, let me say that I'm completely new to couchsurfing and I'm still learning my way around it.

I'm outgoing, open-minded, adventurous, and driven. I want the most out of life and I also want to give back everything that I get out of life.

I'm originally from a rust belt town called Decatur, Illinois, and I left because I wanted to break the cycle of poverty in my family and build a better life for myself and eventually my children.

I studied Finance in college but realized I didn't want to work in banking. I taught myself how to code and enjoy software engineering. I am considering applying to medical school in a few years.

My interests are all over the place, but right now I'm most interested in learning Spanish and German, as well as getting better at the saxophone, and exploring the area a bit more.

Check me out on these profiles/accounts:

My personal website is justinsofia.com
My linkedin is at linkedin.com/in/jdsofia

Google me and I'm sure you'll find more! Thank you for taking the time to read my profile.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm on Couchsurfing because I love the community, adventure, and meeting people.

Interests

• beer
• exercise
• traveling
• music
• live music
• business
• entrepreneurship
• history
• software
• travel
• german
• improv
• programming
• startups
• saxophone
• spanish

Music, Movies, and Books

Music is one of my favorite things in life, and I listen to everything from rap to jazz, classical to metal, EDM to punk. I also love Latinx music, Cumbia and Cuban Son being my two favorite genres there. My favorite genres right now are electronic/funk/hip-hop fusion musicians and classic rock.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

For me the most amazing thing I've accomplished is getting into the business school at The University of Texas at Austin. I grew up in a very poor family in a rust belt town in decline, and when I was in high school I was hanging out with bad crowds. Halfway through high school a major life event made me question all my decisions up until that point, and from then on I decided to pursue my dreams. I turned a 2.2 GPA into a 3.5 in 2 years and got myself into UT Arlington. From there I busted my butt to get into UT Austin and I was one of 12 students to be accepted as out-of-state transfers into the Business School, out of 170 applicants. If you run the calculations, I was as likely to successfully transfer as I would have been to get into Stanford or MIT.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm decently well-connected to the Austin TX startup and developer scene, and I used to work for Austin's top startup incubator program. If you're interested in startups I'd love to help you critique your business idea and I could potentially plug you into the Austin startup network.

As far as learning, I'm an open book. I've been studying art more recently and I'm particularly interested in typefaces and fonts. I saw an awesome documentary called Helvetica that spurred this on (I recommend it highly). Art and design has historically been a weak area for me so I'd love to learn more.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share all kinds of life experiences and stories, I can help you learn how to code, I can help you with your business idea. But I'm not all pen-and-paper - I love to have a good time, be part of an interesting story, and experience new things. I'm an open-minded person and a lover of life. I'm happy to share anything I can share with you.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany